Chihiro to Haku
by Kagura
Summary: What happens when ten year old Chihiro cares an injured dragon in the river on her families land? What happens when the dragon starts caring for her? What happens if you kill Hayao Miyazaki's lawyers? Read and find out! P.S. I'm not Dead.
1. Tomakun

Kagura: Ohayou minna!!!! Or should I say hajimashite? Who gives a shit!  
  
Censors: (whip out death warrants) What were the conditions of the contract Kaze-youkai?  
  
Kagura: (gives dry look) NO swearing, violence (to a certain extent), sexual situations, necking, blah, blah, blah, as this is a PG rated ficcie.  
  
Censors: And?  
  
Kagura: And..  
  
Censors: And?!  
  
Kagura: A-and..  
  
Censors: AND?!?!  
  
Kagura: Gah! Okay, okay. I don't own Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi or in other words Spirited Away (sniffle).  
  
Censors: And?  
  
Kagura: (sniffle) On with the fic (sniffle, sob).  
  
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"Chihiro! Get out of bed your gonna be late for school again!", Rin screamed up the stairs.  
  
Chihiro's eyes moved under their lids while she snuggled under the covers trying to block out her older sister's voice.  
  
"Chihiro!", Rin screamed again this time stomping her foot.  
  
"Okay, okay. I'm coming, just hold on.", she wearily yelled in response.  
  
As Chihiro tottered down the stairs, her movements sluggish and heavy, Rin hmphed.  
  
"There you are! It's a good thing 'kaa-chan and 'tou-chan leave before us or you'd be in big trouble Sen!" Rin scolded.  
  
"You can't be that mad at me." Chihiro stated plainly.  
  
"What makes you say that?" Rin questioned.  
  
"You called me Sen. You only call me Chihiro when you're mad.", she said lightly.  
  
Rin frantically wracked her brain for a caustic response. She hated to admit the klutz was right at times like these, like when Chihiro woke up late. Finally she came up with one.  
  
"But I did call you Chihiro. Twice in fact." Rin said smugly.  
  
"Whatever." Chihiro said lightly before walking out the door.  
  
"Hey wait up! I have to walk you to school!"  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chihiro and Rin walked to school in silence. Rin had her headphones on and was listening to Do As Infinity. Chihiro was just thinking about the up coming field day her school was having.  
  
When they finally reached Chihiro's elementary school, Rin turned to Chihiro and sighed.  
  
"Well, squirt, it's off to school for you. I'll pick you up at 3:00. Got it?" Rin said raising an eyebrow.  
  
"Got it." Chihiro said giving a mock salute.  
  
Rin shook her head in a playful manner and started to stalk off when..  
  
"By the way, I love you o-nee-chan!" Chihiro yelled after her.  
  
"I love you too, imouto-chan!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chihiro walked into her classroom and spotted Rumi, her best friend in the whole world.  
  
"Ohayou, Chihiro-chan!" Rumi said waving her over to a desk next to her.  
  
"Ohayou Rumi-chan!" Chihiro said sitting next to the dark browned hair girl. (A/N: okay Rumi is a real character, she gave Chihiro the bouquet in the movie, I'm just making up the description).  
  
"Say, where's Nanami-chan (no not El Hazard Nanami) and Sou-chan?" Chihiro said noticing her two other friends were not there.  
  
"Well, Sou-chan broke the zipper in her uniform skirt and had to go to the office to call her mom. Nanami-chan just decided to go with her." Rumi said shrugging. A boy with short chocolate brown hair and cobalt eyes walked up to the two girls.  
  
"Hi girls.", he said in a cocky voice. Rumi blushed.  
  
"Ohayou, Toma-kun." Rumi said in a shy voice.  
  
"What do you want Toma?" Chihiro said annoyed.  
  
"Why Chihiro darling? Whatever is the matter with you? Hey why don't you be my girlfriend, it would only make things easier.", he said in a tone that reminded Chihiro of an over confident sports star.  
  
"No way Toma. I don't want a boyfriend, and I don't like you. Besides your eleven and I'm ten. I don't want older men." Nanami snickered, having just entered the room, at this last part. She knew Chihiro was just making excuses now.  
  
Toma was seething. "No girl in this class refuses me. You just passed up a perfect opportunity to be popular."  
  
"No, I just passed up the perfect opportunity to step on your feet whenever we went walking together." Chihiro retorted placing her hands on her hips. "You may leave now."  
  
As Toma stomped off, Nanami, Sou, and Rumi sighed dreamily. Chihiro gave a grunt of disgust. It was obvious what the three girls, and every other girl in the fourth grade for that matter, were experiencing. Little girl love.  
  
Ahh, the joys of little girl love. Love untainted by social standards or race, love so pure lust wasn't even in mind. Little girl love brought on demure blushes and the shuffling of feet whenever the object of little girl love was around or spoke. Little girl love was acceptence in every way. But usually there were two catches with little girl love. Number one being that all the girls set their eyes on one particular boy and number two being that the lucky girl who won the boys affection was encouraged by her friend and hated by every other girl  
  
Chihiro was special. She only got a few perks of little girl love. She was encouraged by her friends and hated by every other girl. She had successfully won the boys affections, or should I say caught the boy's eye, as she was sure Toma didn't like her in that way, but just wanted yet another ego boost.  
  
"Sen-chan why don't you like Toma-kun?" Sou said in awe.  
  
"Because I'm just a toy he can't have in his eyes. He just wants to prove he can have any girl in the school and I'm in his path to the top.", she said in a knowing tone.  
  
"Your loss." Nanami said as the teacher walked in.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Chihiro pushed Nanami on the swings as Nanami's black pigtails moved with the wind. Sou was reading a book as Rumi wove a wreath of daisies and placed them on Sou's russet locks that barely reached her chin (a/n: imagine Tsubame from Rurouni Kenshin). Sou gave a warm smile before returning to her page.  
  
Nanami hopped off the swings to go get their lunches, seeing how luch came during recess and and ended with a half hour of free-time, a.k.a the teachers excuse for solitude in the classroom, or in other words even more recess.  
  
Chihiro wondered what Rin was doing at her middle school. Probably flirting, she thought. As she turned her head to the clouds something caught her eye.  
  
"Hey guys! Look at that funny cloud! It looks like a squiggle.", she exclaimed noting the odd shape it was in and the way it moved so fast.  
  
As Sou straightened her yellow bandana tied under her navy blue sailor collar, she looked to the sky. "Ne, it must be gone now," she commented.  
  
"Hmm.", and with that Chihiro let it slide.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
As Rin and Chihiro got home, Rin went to her room to do homework and Chihiro went outside to play on the tire swing. The land they lived on had been a gift from her fathers company. The forest it resided by was huge and an old farmhouse was somewhere in it. Chihiro and Rin liked to eat picnics and frolic in the field located by a river in the eastern part of the forest. The Kohaku River, that's what it was called, or was it the Sango river (a/n: sorry just had to add that)?  
  
The woods had always mystified her. They just seemed so spooky. She had made her dad call animal control and make sure that no big game lived there. The most they came across was a mother fox and her cubs. Animal Control gladly moved them to a new home.  
  
Right now they seemed to be calling to her. Chihiro tugged on her knee length navy blue pleated skirt, then toyed with her matching navy blue uniform shirt, before heading off into the fukai mori.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Chihiro trudged on through the thicket. She had noticed early on that many of the leaves in the path she was taking were coated in thick sticky blood. She thought maybe she had stumbled upon the scene of a murder. Instead of scaring her, it excited Chihiro to no end. She might get a reward! Besides she couldn't get caught. She was one of the fastest runners at Nabayuki Elementary School.  
  
Her path finally took her to the Kohaku/Sango River. But something was off. There was red flowing in it. 'More blood!', Chihiro thought, 'I hope I'm not too late to save this person!'  
  
She reversed directions and traveled the length of the river and came across-  
  
"A dragon!"  
  
There, on the banks of the Kohaku River, lay a badly injured silvery white dragon, marred only by the many abrasions and blood covering its scales and fur.  
  
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Kagura: (holding up fan glowing with channeled ki) Well, minna-san whatcha think? Why don't you tell me in a review while I kill Hayao Miyazaki-san's lawyers. Ja ne! 


	2. Slumber parties

Kagura: You know, I was thinking about the little girl love statement, and I realized how much little girl love sucked. I mean, it ruined some pretty good friendships. Plus, what sucks is I'm currently the object of teenage boy love. I have my own personal fan club. And I'm not very popular. I never was. *sigh* Well, here we go.  
  
Lots of internet pocky to Lady Sakura, Geminidragon, and Sushi for their wonderful reviews. No thanks to my mom who thought it was a little odd for a teenager in high school to be watching 'cartoons'. So many swears I wanted to expel at her. Anime is not cartoons. GRRRRRR!!!!  
  
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" A dragon! There's a dragon on my family's land! Ohmigod, ohmigod, ohmigod!" As Chihiro finished her tantrum, she gasped for breath.  
  
She couldn't believe it. She always was a firm believer in the seeing is believing statement, but how do you believe this? Mythical creatures just don't shed blood in your backyard.  
  
Chihiro had never been one to give into fanciful illusions. That was Sou's job. Sou was always reading books about spirits and gods. The closest she had ever come to reading something like that was one of her sister's manga.  
  
But here, in the river was a bleeding dragon, it's life force slipping away rapidly.  
  
Finally, Chihiro's initial shock wore away and was replaced by an overwhelming sense of pity. Even in its battered state, she thought the dragon was beautiful. With its hunter green eyes and mother of pearl scales, it screamed masculinity. Manly beauty, in other words.  
  
Chihiro crept closer to the dragon, afraid to startle it. Something had to be done in order for it to live. She was a foot away from it when it gave a low whining growl.  
  
Chihiro gently kneeled next to the dragon to touch one cut scale. It gave a growl of displeasure and snapped lightly at its back, but couldn't muster the strength to lift its head. Chihiro eyes watered. Who could have the gall to harm such a beautiful creature? With it's hunter green eyes and mother of pearl eyes, it screamed 'kirei'.  
  
Chihiro clenched her jaw and tried *read* tried to lift the dragon's neck. Once, twice, and a third time before succeeding. She hauled it over her shoulder to where the dragon's head reached her waste in the front. And without a second thought, she slowly trudged on, searching for the abandoned farmhouse, not noticing the blood staining her fuku.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
After two hours of resting, pulling, trudging, and more resting, Chihiro found the farmhouse. Gently laying the dragon down, she slid open the door. Once that was done, she pulled the dragon in to lay on the soft grass that had grown in the absence of hay.  
  
After arranging the dragon into what Chihiro thought was a comfortable position, she glanced at her wristwatch.  
  
"Oh no! 'Kaa-chan and 'tou-chan will be home soon!" Chihiro was almost to the barn door when she remembered the dragon.  
  
"Listen, I can't stay, but I'll be back later. Just don't up and die on me okay?" she said, giving one last glance over her shoulder at the dragon before making her exit.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Hey Sen! 'Kaa-chan and 'tou-chan will be home late so. What in the seven hells are you covered in?!?!" Rin yelled at the sight of her sister.  
  
Chihiro was standing in the tiled (a/n: in place of tatami) foyer. Blood had turned her once pristine navy blue uniform and yellow bandana crimson. She wracked her brain for a smart answer, much in the Rin did this morning. And just like Rin, she did.  
  
"Well, I found a dying Dragon in the river, so I brought it to the farmhouse to heal.", she said nonchalantly.  
  
Rin gave her a blank look. "I won't tell 'kaa-chan and 'tou-chan you were playing in red paint."  
  
"Thanks Rin."  
  
Rin returned to making hotpot. "Sheesh, you can thank me by changing and putting your clothes in the wash. Don't worry, I'll clean them with my uniform, I spilled miso on it during lunch. Take a bath while your at it, you stink. Wash your hair too. Now!"  
  
Chihiro had just reached the stairs when a thought crossed her mind. "Hey, Rin?"  
  
"Yeah, Sen?"  
  
"Just where are 'kaa-chan and 'tou-chan?"  
  
"Oh dad's company is throwing a beneficiary party, so they'll be pouring themselves in around twelve tomorrow afternoon. By the way, Minato's coming over to help me with a project. Got it?", Rin said raising an eyebrow.  
  
Chihiro blinked twice. "I won't tell 'kaa-chan and 'tou-chan you're having a sleepover."  
  
"Arigatou gozaimasu, Sen-hime." Rin said giving a mock bow of respect.  
  
Chihiro giggled while tramping up the stairs.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*  
  
Chihiro hurriedly scrubbed shampoo through her brown locks, wanting to be done soon. Laughter drifted up from downstairs as she drained the tub. When Minato came over, they just had to invite Izumi who just had to speak to Satsuki. So what was a sleep over quickly became a slumber party.  
  
Chihiro was in her sleep pants and shirt when she slipped her sneakers on. She quickly pulled a hooded sweater on, before sneaking down the hall to her parents' room.  
  
Grabbing the first aid kit from it's usual spot in the bathroom. She put fresh batteries in the electric lantern before slinking down the stairs and out the house.  
  
Once she was outside, she put the first aid kit in her front pocket and filled a bucket with water from the hose. She picked up her lantern and bucket and bravely trekked through the forest.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
All things considered, she made incredibly good time. Sliding the door open, the lantern's light soon filled the farm and reflected off the scales, glistening with blood, of the dragon. Knowing what had to be done, she quickly took some fabric from her front pocket dipped it in the water and set to cleaning the dragons body.  
  
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Kagura: *takes a drink from glass with little umbrella in it while using magic fan to cool herself* I'll tell you what happens when you kill Hayao Miyazaki's lawyers. You change your name to Sayo, move to Tahiti, hire a cabana boy, and get a tan. If you want me to come home, send me a review! Ja ne! 


	3. Cold green tea

Kagura: *donning string tiger striped bikini* I love you all, but you know, Tahiti rocks. I mean, white sandy beaches, coconut drinks with umbrellas, hot guys who don't speak English. I don't know if I'll ever come back. You should try it, ladies (or gentlemen). On another note, If I don't include you in my thanks, don't worry, it just means I haven't read your wonderful, supportive review full of love for my ficcie (talk about an ego booster Haku-luver).  
  
Now, I must make an apology to Raven. In my last chapter, I called her (I presume it's a her correct me if I'm wrong onegai) Sushi, because I saw her (his, not insulting you with this) email address. So sorry, don't think I wasn't thanking you.  
  
Today Tahitian Golden Banana Award nominations for thanks go to Kely (who reviewed both chapters, sorry for not including you in the first), Haku- luver (my personal ego booster), Koriku (my partner in crime), and CK (you don't have to start on your fic yet, just keep reviewing mine).  
  
And for you Haku-Lover, you get a Bronze Coconut Award for noticing Rin was an Inuyasha manga luver. I was considering making it Rurouni Kenshin, but adding oro would be a little too obvious. Besides that name, it just made me think Inuyasha.  
  
Rin (Inuyasha): Rin-chan wonders why too, Kagura-sama!  
  
Sesshoumaru: Oh god, I'm in hell. Rin's no smarter than George Bush (a/n: I am not anti-war, I just think it's funny he sucks at giving speeches), and Kagura is wearing a bikini. It can't get any worse than this.  
  
*Jaken comes out wearing a bright hot pink bikini*  
  
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Chihiro stared at the bandaged dragon lying on the grass. She had finished bandaging the most serious of the wounds and was currently content to sit and watch the dragon breathe. Every once and a while she had to put her ear right next to the dragon's nose and feel the warm puffs of carbon dioxide against her skin (a/n: I was gonna put carbon monoxide since he's a dragon, but then I realized Chihiro would die).  
  
She had no idea what to do next. She figured she would probably have to give the dragon something to drink, but didn't know what was soothing for its throat. Green tea always did the trick for her. Hmmm, tea?  
  
Chihiro shook her head. Tea would probably be to hot for the dragon's throat. But, why did tea seem so obvious right now?  
  
Then it hit her. Her mother had added some honey to a pitcher of freshly made green tea this morning, and then put it the fridge to chill (a/n: yum^.^).  
  
"I'll be right back, okay dragon? I'm just gonna go get some cold green tea for you, so just don't up and die on me." Chihiro smiled at her words. She had said that on their first temporary parting. Saying goodbye was kind of like signing his death warrant. Goodbye meant finality, where as 'just don't up and die on me' was a kind of plea to wait for her to return.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*  
  
Chihiro was thoroughly surprised to see the girls practically comatose in the den. It was only 11:30. (a/n: nothing sinister happening here, they're just tired). Shrugging her shoulders, she treaded lightly into the kitchen, before heading out again after filling a thermos.  
  
Her thoughts wandered back to the events of the day. Rejecting Toma yet again, pushing Nanami on the swings, seeing that squiggly line in the sky.  
  
Wait, squiggly line? The dragon was incredibly flexible though, so, could that squiggly line have been it?  
  
Chihiro stopped walking. "Nah!"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Chihiro walked in to find the dragon in the same position, it's breathing strong and normal (a/n: See Kely! No more ouch). Maybe she could rouse it from it's sleep.  
  
Chihiro had never really bothered to get too close to the dragons head. Those teeth still looked sharp. But here she was kneeling next to a mouth full of canines with razor sharp edges.  
  
Chihiro gulped. She wanted the dragon to wake up so it could help with the drinking process. But what could she do?  
  
She settled for a way that would gently rouse it from its sleep. Lifting her hand, she gently scratched the fur on its snout, behind the ears, around the horns.  
  
The dragons eyes started squinting before opening slowly, trying to focus in the dim light emitted from the lantern. And since dragons have great eyesight, they quickly came upon the young girl kneeling above him.  
  
"Um, uh, ohayou? Wow, that was really lame. Listen, I'm gonna give you something to drink, okay? Please don't bite me," Chihiro let out uneasily.  
  
Reaching her shaking hand to hook her fingers in between the upper canines, she silently pleaded with every god she knew of the she would have all her digits when she came out of this. (a/n: I will send an e-card to anyone who came name three of the gods, I will give you a hint, they're all from manga).  
  
Chihiro struggled in opening the dragons, just not having the strength. The dragon, sensing her trouble slowly lifted his upper canines, therefore opening his mouth.  
  
Chihiro (a/n: you know I begin a lot of paragraphs with Chihiro) gave a bright smile and lifted his head into her lap.  
  
"I hope you like tea," she said playfully.  
  
Carefully unscrewing the top she poured the contents slowly into the dragons waiting mouth, feeling elated as he swallowed eagerly. Once it was all gone, the dragon closed his mouth, and gave an appreciative growling sigh (a/n: it made sense in my mind, okay enough of me I won't talk anymore). However he didn't close his eyes. They remained half lidded as Chihiro silently stroked the teal fur of his forehead, or what appeared to be his forehead.  
  
"You know dragon, you're not half bad. I have to go now, so I'll see you in the morning." With that statement, Chihiro lifted the dragon's head off her lap and placed on the green grass. Chihiro was almost to the door when she stopped.  
  
"Just don't up and die on me, okay?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Chihiro lay snug in her bed. She couldn't wait for tomorrow. She made no plans to tell anyone about the dragon. He would be her special friend. Besides, if anyone did find out, he could be in grave danger. Yes, she had decided it was he. It just didn't look very feminine. Her eyes drifted shut as she thought of the beautiful creature, without the fear of it dying.  
  
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Kagura: *on dock, waiting for boat* Hmm, that's odd. I thought Koriku would want to come here because of the killing of Hayao Miyazaki's lawyer. I even hired a cabana boy. Well if you see Koriku, send me a review. If you don't, send me a review. Ja! 


	4. A matter of trust

Kagura: *hands Koriku a cabana boy, with a gift bow on his head* Here you go Koriku! A cabana boy is a tall, dark, handsome man who can't speak English who likes to rub sun tan lotion on your back, bring you drinks with little umbrellas in them, and fan you while you soak up some sun, in other words, PERSONAL SLAVE!!!!!!!! WEEEEE!!!!! Here's yours. His name is Juan, and he thinks you're gorgeous. *glares at Juan* Don't you, Juan? *takes Juan's chin and makes him nod* That's a good Juan. And do you got any pocky in that trench coat? And we can put the bodies in shark infested waters out of "respect".  
  
Today's Tahitian Golden Banana Award nominations for thanks go to Gingitsune (for not hating my AU), Shazaoblossom (for her help with the Risa/Lisa/Rumi statement) and Koriku (for scaring me to death and making me super happy with that trench coat act). Little Maiden receives one (I like this too), Taikoubou42 (for liking my comments) and so does Aki (you like me, you really like me).  
  
The coveted Bronze Coconut Award goes to Gingitsune for being- SO EERILY LIKE ME!!!!! Or do I get one for being like her? It's creepy, the only thing different about us is she's called a hyperactive chipmunk, where as I'm called "goddamn bouncy ring-tailed lemur from hell". Even our names are the same. Scary. We like the same anime, are both vertically challenged, attended Catholic School, too many similarities to name. I hope one of them is being a fan of Kaoru and Kenshin togetherness. So take your Coconut and make your self a coconut bra ^.^! Kawaii Kitsune is the runner up, there are more differences between us.  
  
Taikoubou42 is so special. She/he noticed that my introduction was long. But there were no unnecessary parts in it. Everything has relevance later on in the story. Toma, the swings, Chihiro's friends and bad habits, the long recess, the squiggly line, everything plays some part later on. It may take a while so just wait.  
  
Also, many of you might not understand the relationship Rin and Chihiro have. Sisters have this unspoken pact. If you can rescue your sister from the wrath of your parents, without taking the blame yourself, you will. Rin also doesn't seem to like Chihiro (in some parts), but in fact, she loves her sister dearly. She just doesn't show affection in the normal way. Both she and Chihiro wouldn't like that (besides that's gonna be dragon boy's job).  
  
Personally I hated the last chapter. I think it was poorly written. Then again I think all my chapters are poorly written, but you seem to like them. You must be high. So, to make up for my poorly written story, you must read Nigihayami Kohaku Nushi. My fic pales in comparison. Actually it turns a nasty shade of green. So to add a bit more color to my ficcie, I'm gonna start writing the actual story while Koriku gets a massage from Juan -.-'.  
  
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At 5:30 in the morning, Chihiro's alarm clock went off. Awake in an instant, she hurriedly put on her clean uniform, knee high socks, and brown loafers. She would half to thank Rin later.  
  
After she had refilled the first aid kit, gotten a steak from the fridge, filled the thermos with cold green tea, and slunk past the teenagers, who wouldn't be up until ten (a/n: I'm following a French middle school's schedule since its so much like Japan's, Wednesdays and Saturdays are half days, but I'm putting school in the second half of the day, it's Wednesday), she stepped outside. The sun was rising and mist still covered the ground.  
  
Chihiro walked with a bounce in her step, highly strange for a ten-year-old who got five hours of sleep. She found the farmhouse with no trouble at all, considering she just learned of its destination yesterday. She opened the door and stepped into the filtered sunlight.  
  
The dragon lay peacefully, in almost the exact same place it had been last night. The grass in front of its nose flittered with every breath. Chihiro smiled at the sight. You would've thought she was staring at a sleeping baby and not a dragon.  
  
After last night, she no longer feared her ferocious friend. If anything she thought he was in need of some helping he was so pathetic (Haku: Hey! I'm not pathetic! Hmph!). Chihiro sat down in front of the dragon, petting him in the same manner she did last night to wake him up. The dragon opened his eyes, only to awaken to the lanky girl who had saved him the day before, and the delicious smell of bloody flesh.  
  
"Good morning. Are you hungry," Chihiro asked getting the steak from beside her. She knew her father would probably wonder where it was. The dragon responded by lightly nipping its teeth at the delicious piece of cow carcass dangling inches from its face.  
  
Chihiro laid the steak down right next to its face, still afraid of hand feeding it, liking her fingers where they were. The dragon gratefully swallowed the steak whole, startling Chihiro out of her wits. He opened his mouth, awaiting his cold tea. Chihiro gladly obliged, and poured the soothing liquid down his throat. The dragon growled, or purred, in contentment, and closed his eyes, his energy spent. Chihiro stood up and brushed off her skirt.  
  
"Well, I'll see you this afternoon. Just don't up and die on me, okay?"  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
By 8:00, Chihiro was walking towards Nabayuki Elementary School with Sou in tow. She had called her at 7:30 asking her to get some school supplies, and afterwards they would walk to school together. Rin was still sleeping since school didn't start until 12:30 for her.  
  
"Chihiro, I called you three times last night. Every time I did, your sister said you weren't in the house. What's up," Sou asked worriedly.  
  
Chihiro gave her friend a nervous smile asking Kami for the strength to lie to that worried face. "I was outside I the woods, just, you know, exploring."  
  
Sou looked at her skeptically. "You never explore."  
  
Chihiro sighed. She wanted so badly to tell sou of her dragon friend, but had vowed to herself that she wouldn't tell a soul. But Sou might be the only one who truly would believe her. Her resolve crumbling, she gave into desire.  
  
"Okay, sou-chan, can you keep a secret?"  
  
Sou gave a nod, her eyes serious.  
  
With a upward glance, Chihiro preceded to give the entire story.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
By the time Chihiro had finished, Sou's eyes were wide in disbelief in awe.  
  
"Ch-Ch-(a/n: ch-ch-ch-chiya pets!)Chihiro, a dr- dragon is in your family's farmhouse? That's not possible. Dr-dragons d-don't exist."  
  
"Listen Sou, I only told you because I knew you might believe me. I didn't even tell Rumi-chan. I'll show you after school if I have too. Just don't tell anyone okay? I'm begging you, Sou, I need someone on my side right now." Chihiro was desperate. Real (a/n: not crocodile) tears were starting to form in the corners of her eyes.  
  
Sou's eyes widened. She quickly gave her friend a big hug to soothe her fears away. "It's okay Sen-chan, I believe you. I was just a little shocked that's all."  
  
"Thanks, Sou-chan, I'm so lucky to have you as a friend." Chihiro hooked her arm in Sou's and skipped off to school. Little did they know a certain set of cobalt eyes was staring after them, having been to far away to have had heard the conversation, but close enough to see the tears.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*  
  
The teacher drawled on and on about Oda Nobunaga while Chihiro passed notes with Rumi.  
  
Chihiro: Why does Toma keep looking over here? Rumi: How should I know? Maybe it's your natural womanly charm. Chihiro: So not funny, baka deshi. Rumi: I'm offended, Shishou. Chihiro: LOL! ^-^  
  
"Okay class recess."  
  
In one voice the class chanted, "Arigato gozaimasu, Watanabe-sensei."  
  
"Yeah, yeah, just go already, little bastards." The old teacher mumbled so the children couldn't hear her.  
  
Just before Chihiro and her friends were safely out the door, the devil himself spoke.  
  
"So why were you crying this morning, Kaoru-koiishi," Toma said in a mocking, disdainful voice.  
  
Chihiro turned around in her tracks, coming face to face with her arch- enemy. There he was, just standing there, with that self-centered smirk of his, daring her to tell him he was wrong.  
  
"I have no idea what you are talking about Toma. Why don't you take your slimy self somewhere else."  
  
"Oh but you were. I saw you with Sou-chan this morning, and you had tears in your eyes." If anything, Toma's smirk grew so wide it nearly split his face.  
  
Chihiro's stomach fell to the floor.  
  
'Oh no,' she thought, 'he knows about the dragon.'  
  
Sou, on the other hand, was about to faint.  
  
'He called me Sou-chan. Oh he's so wonderful, and cute, and, charming, and....' And the list goes on and on.  
  
**************************************************************************** ****************  
  
Kagura: *handing Tahitian Silver Mango Award to Hemp Chick* You deserve this award. You named every single god that Chihiro could've possibly prayed to. I'm impressed. I thought everyone would use Byakko, Seiryuu, Suzaku, and Genbu, but you used everyone on my list. If you guys want an award just leave a review and you in the running. As for cabana boys, sorry, only me and Koriku get those. She helped dispose of the bodies. If you kill a lawyer, leave a review. If you breathe air, leave a review. Ja Ne, minna-chan! 


	5. The dragon is Jealous

Kagura: *putting new gift bow on Juan* I hope you don't mind rejected cabana boys. Juan's non refundable and I can't afford another one. And don't worry about needing to run her to Tahiti. I don't think the hot island boys will care, Dark Angel Himeko. Don't you love killing lawyers? It saves us innocent, pure mystical beings the trouble of writing disclaimers. Don't worry Koriku, you're still part of the club. In fact you and Dark Angel Himeko both part of...  
  
The Official Lawyer Killing Club  
  
And I'm sorry Dark Angel Himeko, but I must leave your presence for now. Koriku and I musteth disposeth of the lawyers' bodieths. Don't worry, we still have to kill Yoshihiro Togashi's lawyers. And if you're off your rocker, I'm the queen of the off-their-rocker people. Today I played Christmas music at full blast just to annoy the neighbors. I also had the weirdest fantasy about Sesshoumaru singing "I'm too sexy" while slowly removing his armor and kimono. He was just about to shed his hakama when my alarm went off. Goddamn alarm clock.!  
  
So you win today's Tahitian Bronze Coconut award! On with the fic!  
  
**************************************************************************** ***********  
  
'.....and handsome, and articulate.'  
  
"I'll ask you again, Chihiro darling, why were you crying."  
  
This knocked Sou right out of her fanciful thoughts. "For your information, Toma-kun, Chihro was worried about her parents since they were at a party last night. She was upset that they didn't say good morning to her," Sou lied through her teeth to her "beloved".  
  
Everyone stared in shock at Sou. For a girl who really didn't talk, that was a speech fit for an ancient shogun.  
  
Toma opened and closed his mouth a few times, not finding anything good enough to say. Finally he closed his mouth, gave Chihiro a good glare, and stomped off, followed closely by some giggly schoolgirls.  
  
Chihiro gave Sou's hand a good squeeze before smiling warmly in appreciation. Sou answered with one of her own before going to her seat. Chihiro took hers by the window, and started to doodle in her notebook while Watanabe-sensei rambled on about the Tokugawa Regime.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*  
  
Sou was sitting in the Ogino kitchen, silently watching Chihiro fill a picnic basket. The plan was they were going to tell Rin they were having a little picnic by the river. Skillfully leaving out the reason there were two picnic baskets.  
  
The first picnic basket was full of bento boxes containing sashimi, sushi, miso, oden, a thermos full of unsweetened green tea and condiments (soy sauce, wasabi, mustard, etc.). The second contained a rather large lamb leg, a thermos full of chilled honey sweetened green tea, and a first aid kit.  
  
'Well, if she's lying, she's certainly going all out.' Sou thought in wry amusement.  
  
"Okay, all done. Ready to go, Sou-chan," Chihiro asked.  
  
Sou sweatdropped. "Ready as I'll ever be, Sen-chan."  
  
Chihiro nodded happily before handing a basket to Sou, who nearly dropped it.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*  
  
Sou and Chihiro were trudging through the woods. Chihiro was skipping, where as Sou was nervously trooping behind her, trying to take in the lush green flora all around her. Ferns grew about her feet, oaks seemed to touch the sky, shitake mushrooms dotted rotting logs. This was a place untouched by the hands of men, a place where the air was clean and the earth fresh (a/n: *rolls eyes at Greenpeace activists, cheering at this part, then throws a golfball at them* Shut up or I'll burn down the rainforests!) and fertile.  
  
Sou tore her eyes from a particularly large butterfly when Chihiro had annouced their arrival at the farmhouse.  
  
"Sou-chan, remember to be quiet, and cautious, 'cause I don't even think he really likes me (Haku: Chihiro doesn't think I like her? *sniffle* How is this?)." Chihiro carefully slid open the door, and stepped inside, "Well, hurry up."  
  
Sou stepped up to the open door, prepared to tongue lash Chihiro for lying to her, when what did she see.  
  
Well, she saw Chihiro, stroking the fur on the spine, of, well, a dragon.  
  
Since Sou was only human and could only give the expected human response, she fainted right on the spot.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*  
  
Chihiro rushed over to Sou the second she collapsed. While she was busily fanning the girl with a "conveniently placed" paper fan, a certain dragon was following her every movement with his eyes. This new girl, "Sou" as she was called by the frantic Chihiro, didn't seem to pose a threat, but looks could be deceiving. He had known that for a long time now.  
  
Sou might've posed a threat, but Chihiro did not. Chihiro had done nothing but show kindness and compassion towards him. Most people would have shown quite the opposite. But Chihiro was special. If dragons could smile, you would have seen the kindest one upon his face, err, snout. While some doubts were still present, he sure as hell trusted her a lot more than anyone else he had met.  
  
She seemed to be friends with Sou, so if that were the case, he would try his hardest to learn to trust Sou as well. But right now, Sou was just being a bother. She was wasting Chihiro's time. Whenever Chihiro came, he was always the center of her attention. She would focus on him, care for him, show affection in some way. However, at the moment, she was busily trying to revive Sou.  
  
'Stupid Sou,' the dragon thought.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Sou-chan, I don't know if you are capable of getting angry, but if you can, please don't," Chihiro said to an unconcious Sou right before slapping her sharply across the face.  
  
Sou awoke with a gasp, coming fully into awareness, and looking up into the worried face Chihiro.  
  
"Oh Sen-chan, I had the most horrible dream. You had taken me to see a dragon in your ....." Sou voice faded as she glanced behind Chihiro to see the dragon slowly (and rather weakly she noted) raising its neck so that its head barely scaled Chihiro's head.  
  
"Chihiro, wh-wh...." Sou couldn't get out the words so she shakily pointed her finger to the dragon behind Chihiro.  
  
Chihiro gave a look of confusion as she glanced behind to see exactly what had frightened Sou. When she did, let's just say her reaction was a little different.  
  
"You're awake!" Chihiro matched her happy tone by rushing to the dragon and nuzzling his face, err, snout. "Hmmm," she hummed happily, "you're okay aren't you?"  
  
The dragon responded by gradually letting his weight rest in the girls arms, which she had happily wrapped his mouth in her joy. Then, to add salt to the wound, he gently growled/whined, giving her the impression he was spent after raising his head.  
  
"Oh my god! I forgot! C'mon, it's time to change those bandages."  
  
'Good, the attention's back on me,' he thought smugly as Chihiro set to do her healing magic. His thoughts turned dark as she enlisted Sou to help.  
  
'No! This is our special time! Go away, you stupid Sou!'  
  
Sadly, dragons don't have voices, so he watched in dismay as Sou helped rewrap his badly wounded body.  
  
Kagura: That was just.. silly. I feel silly, that was silly, WE'RE ALL SILLY!!!!!! SILLY AS FREE WILLY!!!!!! WWWEEEEEEE!!!! Okay, that's enough insanity for one day. Here are the current people in the running for a Tahitian Golden banana award. *takes a deep breath*  
  
Dark Angel Himeko, Koriku, Kawaiikitsune, Jen(cool name), Wild Fox of the Wasteland, Kaio, Hemp Chick, Shazaoblossom, Aki, Taikoubou42, Little Maiden, CK, Kely, Haku-luver(still can't figure out why you sniffed), Geminidragon, Raven, and Lady Sakura. *wipes sweat from brow* Phew, well Ja! 


	6. The dragon muses

Kagura: *serving margaritas to members of the official lawyer club* Oh, it's so nice to have some people here on the island. I almost got sick of the cabana boys. Heh, almost, but not quite. I think I'll make some small talk.  
  
Innocent Dreamer: Guess what? Wonders will never cease! Lots more wonderful stuff later. And yes, Haku is very jealous *evil smirk*  
  
Hyper Pegasus: I love insanity!!!!!!! More, more, more!!!! And damn shoe. Don't burn the house down. Let me!!!  
  
Anime-Mistress89: Go watch it a third time....... And a fourth, and fifth, and sixth......  
  
Blue-Dreamz: You like me, you really like me *joyous sniffle*.  
  
Arin Ross: *hands club badge to Arin Ross* You're officially enlisted. Go out there and make me proud *gives salute*.  
  
Koriku: *sitting with her in front of bonfire* Got any marshmallows?  
  
Jen: Contrary to popular belief, Haku craves attention. Just don't tell him I said that. I like my limbs where they are.  
  
Selene: I'm doing a good job? Really?! Wow!!!! That's a first!!!  
  
BJ: *puts pink bow on Fic* Now it's even cuter. And yes Sango, I mean look at my name.  
  
Sakurachick03: You saw the movie early? *grumbles* evil bitch....  
  
Hemp Chick: *eager smile on face* Send your bishies and quick!!  
  
Yugismpuzzle: *cowers in fear* See I updated, just don't hurt me.  
  
Dark Angel Himeko: *setting hundreds of alarm clocks on fire* There, now no girl shall experience the pain of hearing that annoying buzzing noise. Mwuhahahahaha!!  
  
Anyways, if you mention killing a lawyer in your review, you get too come to Tahiti, and are part of the Official Lawyer Killing Club. I'm president, Koriku is the vice, Dark Angel Himeko is treasurer, and Hemp Chick is the Secretary of Defense. I'm waiting for some gold members...... Review and we'll find out who those members are.  
  
Onward, Hoes! *lowers voice* Kikyou lead the way. *raises voice* Here comes the fic!  
  
**************************************************************************** ***********  
  
Sou was gone, it was 6: 30, and all was as it should be. At least, in his mind. The dragon was resting peacefully on Chihiro's lap, while she talked about her life. Most of it was idle chatter, but he liked her voice, the rise and fall of its pitch. It was a stark contrast to his, which he was sure was dormant at the moment.  
  
He liked her. There, he said, err, thought it. After only a few days, she trusted him enough to let him be this close. She trusted him with her secrets, trusted him not to bite her, all in all trusted him/ she either trusted him or was incredibly stupid. In any case, it was a good change for the ferocious beast. He was so lost in his musings that he didn't notice her getting up.  
  
"I'm sorry, but I have to go."  
  
He gently growled, voicing his displeasure, but knowing he had no power in this situation.  
  
"I'll be back tomorrow, just don't up and die on me, okay?"  
  
Oh gods, how he hated it when she said that! It meant she was leaving. He didn't want her to leave. He had found a home in her, in place of the home that was taken from him.  
  
As the door slid closed with a small tap, his thoughts darkened. A cruel witch had taken his home from him out of greed, and a certain lust for gold, when she learned of the gold deposits. Being a powerful dragon didn't help much.  
  
'How dare she!! I would never help such a low person.' Although, he couldn't help but think what would have happened if he had just agreed. He would be high up, but still a slave.  
  
He thought of Chihiro, with her bright optimism and pretty eyes. She couldn't be subjected to the sort of pain he went through. Although he knew that since she got involved it most likely meant that she was going to be put in danger.  
  
He knew he should leave get her out of danger's way, but he just couldn't. Chihiro had become his life. The witch would mostly likely kill Chihiro anyway if he left, just to spite him. He would stay to protect her.  
  
'Besides, I like the cold greem tea.'  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chihiro walked into her house around 6:30. Rin was cooking dinner, and didn't notice her coming in. She went up the stairs as quietly as she could to finish her homework.  
  
As she finished the last of her English translations, she thought of all that had happened in the past few days, something she had been doing a lot. She was so glad Sou knew of the dragon. It just felt better to have someone she could truly confide in. She just hoped Sou could keep a secret.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"So, Chihiro, how was your day," her father asked while eating his pork (Chihiro: yep definitely don't remember being pigs).  
  
"Oh it was fine, kinda boring if you ask me." Chihiro quickly looked at her plate to keep from blushing.  
  
'Boring my foot.'  
  
"Rin says you're going outside a lot. That's good Chihiro," her mother said approvingly.  
  
Chhiro glanced at Rin in silent regard, knowing very well she did not tell their parents about the "red paint" that had been on Chihiro's uniform. Her sister glanced back at her with a look that said 'you owe me'.  
  
She thought of how she was going to sneak out of the house tonight, to see her dragon friend. She knew it would be difficult since her parents were home, but she didn't have a cjoice in the matter.  
  
"Say has anyone seen that steak I put in the fridge two days ago, its not their anymore," her father asked.  
  
Chihiro turned wide eyes toward him, thinking he wouldn't notice.  
  
"Dear, I don't think you did," her mother answered. Chihiro let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.  
  
"Oh, okay." Chihiro sweatdropped at her father's idiocy.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Chihiro walked into the farmhouse after leaving the house with relative ease.  
  
The dragon had shifted, obviously to get more comfortable. Okay, so maybe she was wrong in assuming dragons liked to sleep in the shape of pretzels.  
  
He lifted his head at the sight of her, and sniffed the air. She trotted over and gave his head a quick hug. He returned the hug in the only way he could. He nuzzled her face.  
  
Chihiro quickly sat down next to him and opened the thermos, letting him drink the cool contents. He finished rather quickly, and let her change his bandages.  
  
"You know," she said, "you'll be fully healed soon."  
  
The dragon growled sleepily.  
  
"When you are healed completely, you can go outside, but for now, its indoors for you."  
  
The dragon wiggled his right ear once.  
  
"I suppose when you do go outside, you can drink from the river since it's clean."  
  
The dragon exhaled.  
  
"Maybe even go swimming."  
  
The dragon blinked.  
  
"Well I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Just don't up and die on me."  
  
'I won't,' the dragon thought warmly.  
  
**************************************************************************** ***********************  
  
Kagura: I didn't like it in the dub when they made Chihiro and her parents seem a little distant from another. Oh well, I don't own Pixar. Anywho, who wants pina coladas? I'll give you one if you review. Ja ne *goes back to massage from Diego*! 


	7. Big time uhoh's

Kagura: *drinking from a coconut* I feel giddy. You know why? Because I have an interesting challenge. In your reviews, I want you to leave a blooper for at least one of the chapters. After this chapter, I'll post all my favorites in a special chapter when I write another.  
  
Selene: I will not die! *gives big bear hug, nearly killing Selene*  
  
KitkatGirl: *hands her another pina colada* Here you go!  
  
Aki: *puts another pink bow on fic* Wai! Really, really cute ficcie!  
  
Wild Fox of the Wasteland: *ties and gags annoying lawyerish dude* Better to stop 'em in the early stages. *kicks dude for good measure*  
  
Hemp Chick: I have no idea what you mean by cookie cutter Mcfics, but I'll take it as a compliment. Do you mean how some fics look all the same? It annoys me too. I offer you this quote. *clears throat* "Never use a hatchet to remove a fly from your friends head."- ancient Chinese proverb. And take this advice literally. And thanks for the Extra Hot Bish Special.  
  
Dark Angel Himeko: *takes wad of cash and puts it in a coconut with a lock on it* Uh-oh, where's the key?  
  
Arin Ross: *stares at big pile of dead lawyers* Oh my.......  
  
Koriku: Mmm, smores *dreamy smile*. Cooked over a lawyer bonfire. Yum.  
  
Noloc3: I don't like Su either! Whatever Su is.....  
  
Yugismpuzzle: *oversees construction workers making barn* A little to the left!  
  
BJ: Who cares? I still don't own Pixar.  
  
Jen: *stares at Haku warily* I think he heard us.  
  
Innocent Dreamer: I liked the last convo too ^-^'.  
  
Wolfgirl: *stares at 4 reviews* Eh, thanks?  
  
La Jazzfish: Yes! We all share the rights! Oh yeah!  
  
And that's the thanks. On with the fic!!! By the way, Haku should be human by the end of the chapter. You people sure are impatient.  
  
**************************************************************************** *************  
  
As Chihiro was running to her school with Nanami and Rumi by her side, she did not notice the broken bottle in front of her. So, as in all standard fanfics, she was the one to step on it.  
  
Chihiro could feel the glass penetrating the sole of her shoe, tearing through her sock, and eventually ripping through the skin. She was very aware of the warm liquid filling the brown loafer, and of the sharp stinging pain coursing through her leg.  
  
Nanami and Rumi were 20 feet ahead of her when they noticed she wasn't with them. When they looked back, they saw Chihiro standing on one foot, and how the foot was dripping what looked suspiciously like blood.  
  
"Ohmigod! Chihiro your foots bleeding," Nanami screamed in horror.  
  
"I noticed," she replied in a meak trembling voice before falling flat on her...... well you know.  
  
"Nanami, go get help!"  
  
As Nanami ran to get help, Rumi sat down beside Chihiro, trying to help. Key word here being trying.  
  
" Don't take my shoe off! Itai!"  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*  
  
"Yes, it's bleeding quite freely now," the paramedic said in a knowing voice.  
  
Chihiro stared at him dryly. "Ya' think?"  
  
Chihiro grimaced as he removed the rather large piece of glass protruding from Chihiro's foot.  
  
Nanami and Rumi were sitting on either side of Chihiro, holding both of her hands, preventing her from hitting the master of the obvious.  
  
He finished stitching the wound up with relative ease, and wrapped the foot in bandages.  
  
She tried standing up, but Mr. Paramedic Dude pushed her back down gently.  
  
"You shouldn't walk on it for a few days. It'll only irritate the stitches and halt the healing process. Here I'll get you some crutches."  
  
Chihiro was really starting to hate this guy. She may have been ten, but she knew this guy was really strange for a doctor. He ran an near the convini (convenience store in japanese), and had run out as soon as he heard Nanami ranting to ole Fujita, the man who ran the convini. He picked her up, rather abruptly, causing all the blood rush to her feet, and scurried back to the center. Besides he looked too young to be a doctor.  
  
"How old are you?"  
  
Mr. Paramedic Dude didn't stop adjusting the crutches to her height as he answered her. "28."  
  
"Isn't that a little young to be a doctor," Nanami asked in an accusing voice.  
  
"No, I graduated medical school three years ago and opened the acute medical center a year ago," he answered in a cheerful voice.  
  
"Mmm, question," Rumi said.  
  
"Hmmm?" He looked up.  
  
"What exactly is an acute medical center?" He smiled, making Rumi blush. His boyish grin was suited well on his handsome features.  
  
"An acute medical center is basically an emergency room that treats not so life threatening cases, such as stitches, shots, asthma attacks. Think of it as a normal doctors office, except you can come here whenever you need, without an appointment." (a/n: these places are real! I go to one whenever I need stitches, they can fill prescriptions to.)  
  
Chihiro rolled her eyes. She had no idea as to why Rumi could fall in love every five seconds. Especially with junior here.  
  
'Wait, did he say stay off my foot? Oh no! How am I gonna feed the dragon?'  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*`*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
"Sou, I really need you to do this for me." Chihiro had started her pleading as soon as the doctor had dropped them off at school. The doctor had driven them there with no obligation, and told them they didn't have to pay. Maybe he wasn't such a bad guy after all.  
  
"No way, Sen! I am not going in there ever again. Not without you."  
  
Sou looked at Chihiro's face, her resolve crumbling.  
  
"Okay! I'll go! Just until you can come with me. Then I'll never go alone again!"  
  
Chihro gave Sou a grateful smile, before making her way to the classroom, where Toma was waiting with a group of students.  
  
"Oh my darling Chihiro! We all heard! We're so proud of you."  
  
Chihiro looked towards the heavens in anguish. 'Why me?'  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~  
  
Somehow, it had gotten around that Chihiro had hurt herself in some brave trial while rescuing Nanami from apiece of renegade glass. Toma used this to his advantage, "helping" Chihiro with her books, putting her bookbag, being as annoying as possible, yaddi yaddi ya.  
  
She finally got a moment to herself at lunch.  
  
'Oh god, what will the dragon think when I'm not there?'  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Sou eyes darted around the forest, looking for anything that might cause her harm. Without Chihiro's annoyingly perky presence, Sou no longer appreciated the forest around her. Instead it frightened her.  
  
She slid the door open, and noticed how the dragon eagerly raised its head up at the sound, then snarled in annoyance, and finally looked around frantically.  
  
"Um, Chihiro can't come for a few days because she hurt her foot on the way to school today, so she, ah, asked me to come, and, hmm, please don't hurt me."  
  
If dragons could scowl, he would have been.  
  
Sou was not supposed to be there in his mind. She always put things out of whack.  
  
Suddenly, he felt his insides shifting. Not a painful experience, but rather a prelude.  
  
'Uh-oh.'  
  
~*o*~  
  
Sou watched in morbid fascination as the dragons body shrunk, and then faded altogether into the body of a boy. A rather good looking boy.  
  
And, for the second time in the dragons presence, she fainted.  
  
~*o*~  
  
The boy gently slapped Sou a few times before sharply hitting her across her cheek.  
  
Sou opened her eyes wearily and stared into by far the most handsome boy she had ever seen. His tea brown hair framed his sharp featured face nicely, and his hunter green eyes seemed to penetrate her very soul. Sou experienced something she had never experienced before. Love at first sight. Gaining her voice back, she asked a vital question.  
  
"Are you the dragon?"  
  
The boy nodded. "My name is Haku. Is Chihiro gonna be okay."  
  
'What about me?' Sou thought.  
  
"She'll be fine. Although I don't know if she will be after hearing this."  
  
**************************************************************************** **********  
  
Kagura: Well, there you have it! Haku is human! And that's the final chapter!  
Lol. Just kidding. Don't get your panties in a twist. The next one'll be out soon. Ja ne! 


	8. They finally meet

Kagura: I am so happy! Not only is my computer fixed, but I went to read my emails, I think Selene sent me an email asking to be my internet buddy. I also bought an authentic Japanese tea set and sushi set, but I got them on sale! Next I plan on getting a sake set. And I had to move my Official Lawyer Killing club to some deserted island. They found my hide out in Tahiti and came after me with briefcases. Oh the horror. But its okay, I got my friends and the cabana boys. So here is a longer chapter to make up for it.  
  
P.S. You people like Sou? Huh, that's interesting.  
  
Disclaimer: I just noticed something, I haven't been posting the disclaimer. Honestly, I only think one is needed, but no one else does. So, with a heavy heart, I tell you this. I do not, and never will, own Spirited Away. If I did, the ending would have been better.  
  
**************************************************************************** ***************  
  
Sou ran with Haku as fast as she could. It didn't help that Haku seemed to have the gift of god-like speed. She realized that as soon as she got to Chihiro's house.  
  
Finally, she reached the house. Haku was waiting patiently, err, well kind of patiently, for her.  
  
"Listen *gasp* I have to *wheeze* go home *hack* but Chihiro's room is *cough* the window above *gag* us. Oyasumi Haku-san." Sou left off with a heavy heart, remembering Haku's curt nod.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*  
  
Haku watched the human girl with an impassive impression as she left. Right now all he wanted to do was get to Chihiro and explain things to her. She needed to know. He wanted her to know. It meant so much to him.  
  
He stared up at the window above him. Getting in would be no problem, none at all. It was all a simple matter of jumping on the sill at the base.  
  
Without a second thought, he jumped, floated, whatever you wanna call it, to the window. Using his powers to unlock the window, he quietly slipped inside.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Chihiro was sleeping quietly, dreaming sweet dreams of her dragon (a/n: not like those kind of dreams, but the kind of dreams you would have thinking of your teddy bear). She was interupted when she felt someone gently shake her awake.  
  
"Mou, Rin-nee, can't you do this every morning instead of shrieking?"  
  
"Uh, who's Rin?"  
  
Chihiro opened her eyes to those of her dragons...... but, something was off. She quickly glanced at the planes of the boy who had stolen her dragons eyes face. Well sculpted cheekbones, defined eyebrows, sloped nose, and tea brown hair. But his eyes, his eyes were what drew her in. the deep intensity she found in the frightened her and made her feel somehow happy all at the same time.  
  
But, setting his good looks aside, we cannot overlook one major fact. Here was a boy, that she didn't know, in her room, in the middle of the night, standing above her, in a strange variation of a gi or a yukata or something or other. Chihiro's eyes widened as realization settled in, more likely hit her like a tidal wave.  
  
Just as she was getting ready to do the obvious, scream, Haku gently covered her mouth with his hand.  
  
"Shh, it's me," the boy said.  
  
"Mmph hm hmph?" Chihiro was trying to speak.  
  
"I'm the dragon. The one in your barn."  
  
"Hmhm?!"  
  
"I changed into my human form as soon as I was completely healed."  
  
"Mmm hmm." This time she sounded sarcastic, or, uh, mmphed sarcastic.  
  
"You don't believe me? Well I really like the cold green tea."  
  
At this Chihiro's eyes widened as his hand fell away, revealing a gaping mouth (Selene: eww, he's got spit on his hand).  
  
"Dr-dragon?"  
  
"Actually its Haku."  
  
"Haku," she said wistfully. Without consent, although I doubt we'd have seen him stopping, she explored his sharp features with her fingers.  
  
'I don't understand, why am I not afraid of him?'  
  
"Um, ok, Haku...... I guess we'll work this out in the morning. There should be a futon in my closet on the shelf. Just set it up and go to bed for now. Oyasumi."  
  
She watched as Haku layed down the futon, head pillow, and got under the covers and went to bed. He was so different from other boys. Hew was arrogant, but not like Toma. Wait, Toma? Uh-oh, he's gonna have to go to-  
  
'School!'  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
It was Sunday, so there was no school today. Chihiro awoke to find Haku looking out the window at nothing, and at everything.  
  
"Um, ohayou, Haku-san."  
  
Haku looked at her with intense (a/n: he's looks, like, twelve years old, and here I am making him out to be 27) eyes.  
  
"Don't call me Haku-san, it seems so distant." Suddenly a soft smile (a/n: *notices all the female readers with stars in their eyes* Oh my) graced his chiseled features. "Haku will be fine, with whatever honorific you see fit, with the exception of -san, or -sama."  
  
Chihiro blushed at his sentiments. "Um, okay, Haku-kun."  
  
He gave a gentle nod to show his approval. "Now, was there something, you wanted to say."  
  
Chihiro nodded. "Well, your clothes don't exactly fit in here so I'm gonna get some from my friend Rumi-chan, okay?"  
  
Haku gave her a teasing look (a/n: Alert, alert! Haku was majorly out of character there). "Are you saying you want me to wear girls clothing?"  
  
"O-of course not! It's just that she has an older brother who looks about your size, and she could lend us some clothes until we go shopping for you."  
  
"You know I was kidding about the whole girl thing?"  
  
Chihiro's face flushed in embarressment. "I knew that!"  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*  
  
"Tell me again why you a set of boy's clothes?" Rumi asked with a strange look on her face as she read her Fushigi Yuugi manga.  
  
"Well, you see, it goes like this. My..... my...... My cousin! Yeah my cousin was going to...... Uh, he was going to...... Borneo! And he lost his suitcase, so he had no clothes so he called us last night asking us to send him some."  
  
Rumi features soon looked confused. "Why didn't he call his parents?"  
  
Chihiro, being the quick thinker and bad liar that she is, quickly retorted. "His parents are dead."  
  
"Oh, that's so sad Chihiro, well I guess I could give you some clothes."  
  
Chihiro let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. She stood in her spot fidgeting as she waited for Rumi to return. She did not wait long as Rumi came bounding down the stairs with a small bag in her hands.  
  
"Here you go, Sen-chan! You tell your cousin I feel for him, you tell him that Rumi's feeling for him, sista!"  
  
"Uh, where did that come from?" Chihiro asked with a strange look on her face.  
  
"I have no idea. Seeya later, Chihiro-chan."  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*  
  
Chihiro waited patiently for Haku to get out of the bathroom. She just wondered what would he look like in modern clothes. Would he look strange, out of place? Would they befit him better than his normal clothes?  
  
Well, when he did finally step through the bathroom doorway, she was taken aback by who right he looked in loose fitting pants and a black t-shirt. Brand new oxford style shoes complemented the ensemble nicely.  
  
"Do I look good?"  
  
The simple question shocked her out of her reverie quite easily.  
  
"Uh, you look great. Okay now that your dressed, our first order of business is to get you enrolled in my school."  
  
**************************************************************************** **********  
  
Chibi Tuski Hikaru: Please don't die. The chapter might have sucked, but at least I updated!  
  
Mii-chan: Don't kick your monitor! Otherwise you'll never see me thanking you. And it feels odd that out of my almost 80 reviews, I haven't got flamed yet. Shit I just cursed myself *knock on wood*.  
  
Yasumi-chan: You don't even need to ask. Of course you can join the club!  
  
Wolfgirl: I'm back! *watches as reviewers run away shrieking* What? I just said I was back.  
  
Miru-miru: Don't do it! I updated see? Just don't send me to law school *whimpers*!  
  
Steahl: I don't care for love-struck, simpering, idiotic friends either. But all my friends and I are past that age. And it's Toma not Tomi......... not that anyone really cares.  
  
Hyper-Pegasus and Cursed: I've stabbed my school too. Although it threw random love notes at me. Now that was scary *shudders*.  
  
Anime-mistress: Sou is gonna need extensive therapy by the end of this fic. And if you're looking for lawyers, go to Harvard ~_*!  
  
PrincessNine: I'm so glad all of my reviewers are homicidal nutcases like me.  
  
Yugismpuzzle: *in lab cloning Haku, with some minor altercations* You know, as much as I love Haku, I don't think he's gonna be happy when he wakes up.  
  
Selene: Yeah, but, she stepped on the mother of all glass shards.  
  
Kitkatgirl: I smell one too. I wished I related to Sou.  
  
Archangel Rhapsody: I love your name. And I think it was kind of imminent that Haku was gonna become human. I think everyone saw it coming. But thank you for the compliment!  
  
Dark Angel Himeko: Oh I'm really sorry about you cat! And don't worry about missing updates, my fic's not worth reading anyway.  
  
Jen: Thank you so much for holding him off!  
  
Sailor-Knight Shadowstar: Yes little girl love really sucks.  
  
Hemp Chick: *makes Haku kiss Hemp Chick on the cheek* Feel better?  
  
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` Submitted by Wolfgirl:  
  
"Hmm," The doctor said. "My, it seems you have a peice of glass in your foot. Your lucky you came right away. Not everyone can find that out."  
  
Chihiro shouted. "You know, since there IS a peice of glass in my shoe, couldn't you take it out?"  
  
The doctor shook his head. "NO! I'm not that kind of doctor. It's way to hard for me to..."  
  
Sou had been listening and finally gave up on the guy. "OW! Chihiro shouted and when the doctor turned around Sou had the peice of glass in her hand and a solom look on her face.  
  
"Look everybody." she said "I can be a doctor now."  
  
*o*  
  
Submitted by Sailor-Knight Shadowstar:  
  
Suddenly, he felt his insides shifting. Not a painful experience, well actually this experience was rather painful. The nausea was overwhelming.  
  
'Uh-oh'  
  
Sou was suddenly covered with pretty much everything that Haku had eaten in the past few days. (Like yubaba when she got in the way of Kaonashi.)  
  
Inspired by Miru-miru:  
  
Suddenly, the scenery changed from dark and dreary farmhouse, to lush tropical beach.  
  
Haku looked around in puzzlement.  
  
"What the......" Haku noticed he could hear his voice, meaning he was in his human form. He quickly glanced down, feeling a material other than the soft silk of his blue pants.  
  
"What the hell am I wearing?!" As luck would have it, he was wearing a Hawaiin shirt, khaki shorts, and no shoes, his feet sinking in the white sand. He felt an odd weight on his hand, and he glanced at it to see him grasping a bottle of tanning lotion.  
  
"Hello there!" Turning around at the sound of a female voice, he quickly came in contact with the incarnate of his deepest nightmares. There, 20 yards down the bitch, uh I mean beach, was a certain black-haired wind demon, wearing a black biking with hearts on it, lounging on a beach chair.  
  
**************************************************************************** ***************  
  
Haku: You will return my clothes now!  
  
Kagura: Why? I think all the female readers are enjoying it?  
  
Haku: You bitch!  
  
Kagura: Maa, maa, there is no need to be a pottymouth. And as for you faithful readers, until next time, ja ne! 


	9. First Day of School

Kagura: *sitting in a corner like she's in time-out, with a tear stained face* Okay now I know you all hate me, and someone has probably taken this fic, fed it, kept it warm, and continued on with it. I can't complain because I'm writing about characters who don't belong to me. But my imagination needed release so I will continue on. You don't have to review or even read it, but again, my imagination needed release.  
  
**************************************************************************** **************  
  
Chihiro walked silently down the hall, with the stoic Haku right beside her. In the course of a few days, she had rescued a dragon, lied to her parents, lied to Rin and her friends, which she never did, and met the most handsome boy she had ever seen. She was only ten years old. Stuff like this didn't happen to girls like her! Okay, so she didn't mind Haku, in fact she was developing an intense crush on him.  
  
Now, nearly every girl who saw Haku fell instantly in love with the serious boy (a/n: *watches as hundreds of girls fall from the sky into a ravine called love* Holy shit.), but Chihiro was surprised that she did. It's not that she didn't want to, but she didn't think she would. She wanted a boy who would make her smile, a boy who would be waiting outside her door to take for a ride on his bicycle, a boy who was always happy. Whereas with Haku, she was always seeking to make him happy, she was content to look at the clouds with him in the yard, she knew Haku wasn't your average boy. Being a dragon had nothing to do with it (okay maybe it did a teensy bit, just a bit). He just seemed to shut himself off inside from the world. She knew that wasn't good for people, that it could lead to depression (which Rin almost sunk into after her godmother died). However, there was one thing about Haku that baffled her.  
  
At times, when he truly opened himself up, he seemed genuinely happy, his smile reached his eyes, and he was content. He was always comfortable around her, and the rest of her family usually, but her mother freaked him out a bit.  
  
~*~ Flashback ~*~  
  
Haku and Chihiro were just coming through the door when her mother greeted her from the kitchen where she was busy making okonmiaki patties as a snack for her daughters.  
  
"Hello Chihiro darling! How was your day," she asked while radiating the maternal aura the all mothers have.  
  
"Great O-kaa-chan," Chihiro stated quickly wanting to cut to the chase, "Listen, Kaa-chan, this Haku he's-".  
  
She never got finish that statement, for her mother had just finished making the snack, and had come to see who was with her daughter, as she heard to pairs of shoes being taken off. At the sight of Haku, she was all up in his face, eager to find out who the mysterious looking boy was.  
  
"My what beautiful and unusual eyes you have," she exclaimed, while scaring Haku out of wits, a difficult thing to achieve, and gave a sidelong glance to her youngest daughter, "who's your friend Chihiro darling?"  
  
Slapping her forehead in frustration, Chihiro then relayed her carefully crafted story about the 'exchange student' Haku, which her mother ate up like chocolate pocky. (A/n: for those of you who don't know exactly what pocky is, it is a long thin biscuit stick, dipped in everything from chocolate to strawberry cream to fish paste :P). She embraced Haku, saying he must miss his family on the Honshu islands (which is where 'exchange student' Haku is from), which thoroughly freaked him out, again another difficult feat.  
  
Later that night, at the dinner table, after the whole meet and greet with her dad and sister, which took fifteen minutes because of the interogation her Rin administered, which he past with flying colors (meaning he was excellent at lying), she relayed her story to her father. Because he thought he was a god, due to the fact that he had four-wheel drive, credit cards, and cash, he instantly agreed. He gave Haku free range of the guest room in the attic (which had indeed been converted into a very large guest room), took the boy under his wing and turned into a somewhat boisterous father figure, which was odd considering Haku was hundreds, maybe thousands of years older than her father.  
  
After dinner, Chihiro and Haku took all the shopping bags from their shopping trip, at which they spent all of Chihiro's life savings, a whopping 102, 850 yen (a/n: $850), for she had never spent any money she ever got. Shopping was incredibly easy task, since he had an incredible fashion sense (a/n: no he's not gay, he's very wise in the ways of the world).  
  
After he had unpacked, Chihiro and Haku talked late into the night about everything and nothing, and at 1:34 a.m. Chihiro said her farewells and went to sleep that evening, knowing very well that tomorrow meant school.  
  
~*~ End of Incredibly Long Flashback ~*~  
  
Lost in her thoughts, Chihiro did not notice that they had reached their destination. The Year 4 Group E classroom, also know as the embodiment of hell on Earth to the oh so unfortunate teacher.  
  
Now, normally, Chihiro was usually a very bright and witty girl. She was a little clumsy at times, and sometimes she didn't pay attention (like when she practically rammed a broken bottle up her foot, and by the way now, she can walk without crutches now, but she can't run, we'll make dragon boy do that ;P), but usually she was aware of what was going on and had a perfect memory. But today she forgot a few very vital elements in making the day go smoothly.  
  
First off, she forgot that she wasn't the only one who would find Haku extremely attractive for a boy his age. The team quickly found this out when they were practically ambushed by a group a fifth graders, all trying to see who this mystery boy was. Secondly, she forgot that half her class consisted of girls.  
  
And so, the second Haku and Chihiro walked through the door, every female's eyes were practically glued to the boy with tea brown hair and hunter green eyes (a/n: *drool*). So where 30 eyes should have been, pulsating pink hearts took the stage (a/n: if there are thirty pink hearts, and each girl has two eyes, and half of her class is girls, how many students are in Chihiro's class?).  
  
And thus began Haku's first day of school with Chihiro.  
  
Kagura: There was no Chihiro and Haku fluff in there. But the next chapter is gonna be full of it. Not that anyone cares, because nobody is reading this out of spite. I deserve it I know. But I still love you all.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Mystic Ice: The little quotes make it all worth while.  
  
Anime Fan 26: Wanna another bad mental image? Yubaba in a hot pink bikini! Mwuhahahahaha.  
  
Koriku: Don't mind. I sort of forgot to write anything at all. Well not forgot, just couldn't find the time.  
  
Random: No, but you all are gonna push me off it.  
  
Dani: Dannielle Lafiel Taylor! There is no swearing! And of course I know who you are.  
  
Sweet-Genie-16: And the bidding starts at.....  
  
Card-Master: It's not that they're stupid, it's just that a lot of them follow the same plot line (one of my favorite reviewers pointed this out). With an AU, the fic can go in any direction and still make sense.  
  
Lady Phoenix Gryffindor: Go ahead and kill me, I definitely deserve it.  
  
Kawaii Kitty: Sou (pronounced so like Soujiro, yes I gave her a boys name) is competition, but none of the reviewers really like her.  
  
Silver Magiccraft: Oh god you all hate me now. Nearly every one of these say update soon!  
  
Satanistic Angel: Don't hate AU's. They don't hate you, but I'm glad you like my neglected and depraved AU.  
  
Jen: After all this time I bet I'm the only Spirited Away fic you hate, since I practically abandoned it.  
  
Sawdust Monster: *stares at skinny, malnourished fic* It ain't cute now.  
  
Selene: Don't die. It would mean I've just lost another one time friend. But I'm pretty sure that everyone hates me now.  
  
Crystal-chan: I refuse to put a 2 on your name. You know why because your name is Crystal-chan! Not Crystal-chan2! What the hell is up with numbering names? Artistic expansion my ass! You came up with that name and you deserve to keep it.  
  
Kittenofmystery: Men are like slinkies. They're fun to watch going down the stairs.  
  
KitKatGirl: Domo Arigatou, onna.  
  
oO-Innocent Dreamer-Oo: Like the name change.  
  
Anime Mistress: And your still waiting.  
  
Destiny's Fate: I was seeing it too *drool*.  
  
Abunai Mori: You don't have too ask. Apparently there was a breeding period of lawyers while I wasn't writing.  
  
Phantomness: My god, I feel like crap! All these please keep writing's are making feel so bad.  
  
Wolfgirl: It was no problem.  
  
Hemp-Chick: *grumbling* Lucky bitch.  
  
Miru-Miru: Well it's six in the morning here.  
  
Kagura: Well until next time, minna-sama, JA NE! 


	10. School sucks

And thus ended Haku's first day at school. He couldn't say that he was exactly impressed by anything that had happened there. The teacher barely knew what she was talking about, the desk had a wobbly leg, the seat of the chair had a tendency to splinter, and the girls...

* * *

_Haku head nodded forward as he fell asleep for the sixth time during the lesson. It was history, and the teacher was droning on about one of Japan's many wars. Usually, bloodshed, obscene torture, and mass genocide were extremely interesting albeit gruesome topics, but with the teacher's monotone voice and mechanical gestures, she might as well have been talking about finance reform._

_Anyway, Haku righted himself yet again when he heard a small and quick sound, almost a sharp tap. Confused, he looked around the room until he came upon the hopeful and smitten face of a nameless girl who looked rather mousy. Still confused, it took him a while to figure out what she was gesturing, before he was surprised less than pleasantly._

_On his desk, was a neatly folded piece of paper, with his name written in formal kanji. But that wasn't what got his attention. What got his attention was the little pink hearts liberally sprinkled all over the note._

_He looked back to the mousy girl who's face was now splotchy and red from blushing. Absently he noted that when Chihiro blushed, a rosy hue spread over the apples of her cheeks. He was knocked from his reverie when he heard several more tapping sounds in his vicinity._

_And when he looked down this time, his desk was covered in a multitude of love notes.

* * *

_

Haku massaged the bridge of his nose as he walked home slowly, Chihiro at his side. He shifted both of their bags on his shoulder, their weight unnoticeable even with all of the school books.

Chihiro had merrily waved him off when he offered to carry her home. While she no longer needed the crutches, there was still a slight limp in her gait and her stitches could split at the slightest provocation. Even though she hadn't taken up on his offer, that didn't mean that he couldn't stay by her side and worry, though he was silent about it.

They walked in silence for a few blocks, the sounds of the life around them more than making up for the lack of conversation. Other school children were making their way home, cars were zooming by, and the local businesses seemed to be coming to life.

Without out the sound of Chihiro's voice, Haku realized just how disgustingly noisy her world was.

* * *

The two of them arrived home long after school had ended. You see, the girls from the class were not to be deterred from their quest to know this mystery boy. It had gotten so bad at one point, that Chihiro had slipped her arm through Haku's, and she steered them towards a different and more hidden path. Haku was pleased to say the least; the fact that she had even displayed the slightest bit of jealousy was something to be happy about.

And so, when they did finally arrive home, Chihiro trudged up to her bedroom, leaving Haku to his own devices. Or rather Rin's devices.

"Hey there Ku-chan."

Haku swung around until he was facing the elder girl, who was fanning herself as she lounged on the loveseat. She arched one eyebrow at him, her expression neutral but... not. In fact, she looked downright disdainful.

He straightened his posture, and made sure his voice didn't betray anything he was thinking or feeling. "Good day Rin-san, is there anything you needed?"

Rin gave him a tight lipped smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Did you like school?"

Damn, she sounded caustic.

"It was fine." Hmm, he sounded guarded.

Anything else that Rin had to say was cut off as her cell phone rang, the sharp trill of Ready, Steady, Go filling the small livingroom. The teenage girl ran out as one of her friend's excited voice came out of the speaker loudly.

Haku looked after her as she ran, wondering if he should've remained as a dragon.

* * *

At dinner, the table was filled with talks of vacation getaways.

"So, my family who shall praise me for being the greatest dad in the world, how about we spend the summer at the lake, maybe rent out a house there?"

If Haku had been a little less reserved, he would've expressed his delight at the idea of a large body of water. Water has his element, was his home, was as necessary as air. Instead, Chihiro did it for him.

"That would be great! We could even rent a boat!"

Screw the boat, Haku thought to himself. Chihiro had once told him in the dead of night that his dragon form was simply beautiful, sleek and powerful while... what was the word she had used? Oh yes, cuddly.

"Can I lay out and get a tan, or must I join in all of the family activites?" Apparently, Rin wasn't as big on the idea as the rest of her family.

"Of course honey! I might even join you." Finally, Chihiro's mother spoke up.

"It's settled. We'll leave this weekend!"

* * *

Kagura: I'm sorry. For everything really. The delay, the less than impressive chapter... Yeah. 


	11. Mary Jane

For all of his time with Chihiro's family, Haku had never once been in a car. He had seen them, and he had most definitely smelled them, but he had yet to actually enter one. Had he done so before the six hour drive, he would've stayed home. Mr. Ogino had rented a large and very loud SUV, to better fit the family, Haku himself, and all of Rin's luggage. For being such an atypical girl, she packed like a typical girl. If she might need it, she packed it. Why she would need an evening gown and a risque fairy costume, well, that was one of the world's mysteries.

At the current moment, Haku was sitting in the middle row by the right window, with Chihiro sitting by the left window. One of Rin's suitcases was wedged between them. Usually he would've found anyway to be at Chihiro's side, but he was actually grateful for the space. The air in the car was artificially cool, and every time he took a breath, it felt like he was breathing in stale, rank oxygen. It got better when he opened the window, but then the car's rocking and the noise gave him the most wicked headache.

As he watched the other drivers on the road, he deduced several things. Humans weren't too different from dragons, at least in some regards. They mated for life, they made good, strong dens in which to raise their families, and they longed to move with the winds. However, humans lacked the gift of flight, of natural flight, and so had to make do with cheap imitations. Which weren't at all easy to come by. First, they had to make the large contraptions that could transport them at suitable speeds, and that was difficult enough. Then, they had to build and map the roads on which their automobiles could move. But the biggest difference was that everyone had to share these roads.

Dragons, when in flight, rarely came into contact with one another. There was just so much free air. And besides, they generally steered clear of one another. Here was another similarity between dragons in flight and driving humans. Most confrontations were unpleasant. But dragon confrontations were rare. Humans, because they had so little space to share, confronted eachother all the time. They even had rules they had to follow! And when the rules were broken, accidents happened. But these weren't just accidents. Twisted steel, gasoline spilt, lives lossed... it all seemed so senseless.

Haku was knocked from his reverie when he felt something touch his shoulder. Looking slightly startled, he turned in what he thought the direction of the touch was. But when he turned to Chihiro, she was quietly reading a book in her lap. She looked up and smiled at him for a moment, just to be polite, before returning to the book. Again his shoulder was tapped, and this time he realized who wanted his attention. Fighting the urge to snarl, he faced Rin, his face (hopefully) neutral. The princess had a set of headphones around her neck, from which the music of some pop/rock singer was blaring, and in her hands was some romantic manga. But it was the disdainful look on her face that caught his attention.

"Could you close the window? The smell out there is giving me a headache."

* * *

Haku had fallen lightly asleep at some time or another, but when he woke up, the car was stopped. As the rest of the world quickly registered, he realized that some of the luggage was gone, the doors were open, and Chihiro was gone. He never liked it when she wasn't withing viewing distance. After fumbling with the door handle, he stumbled out of the car, the feeling in his legs shaky at best. When he looked up, he thought he was prepared to find Chihiro, but what he saw, stopped him in his tracks.

There were trees. Great, big, towering oaks with strong boughs and a multitude of green leaves. And, and there were lots of them! The air smelled like wet earth and decaying plants, and beneath his restraining shoes tree bark and dried leaves crunched and crumbled.

He turned on his heel a few times, just to make sure this wasn't some horrendously cruel dream. It wasn't, for Chihiro's father was dragging in some of Rin's suitcases while she talked to someone on her cellphone. Mrs. Ogino was hefting a cooler and an obscenely large picnic basket into the house, which he had yet to see. But where was Chihiro? She wasn't outside, but he could smell her on the -

Oh... oh!

Apparently, Chihiro had forgotten that he wasn't exactly human. Because she seemed to think that she could sneak up on him, without him knowing. It was... what was the word? Of course, cute.

She was behind him now, the shuffling of her feet and the forced quietness of her breathing loud and clear. He could feel the air shifting as she raised her hands to grip his shoulders.

He turned around quickly, effectively startling her. Chihiro stumbled backwards, nearly falling to the ground. Haku grabbed her arm just before her feet slipped beneath her, and as her breath evened out, she tried to smile innocently.

"Um, I tripped?"

Haku just smiled warmly and tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow, and asked her to lead him to the house.

* * *

The house, as it turned out, was very nice. It was two stories, with a large living room dominating most of the first floor. The house was a bit older, so there were plenty of windows to let in the sun. In fact, most of the walls were dominated by them. The wall paper was crimson with small, indigo flowers enhancing, but not overpowering the beauty of it.

The floors were wood, a rich, warm maple that gleamed with polish. The furniture was modern in shape and very straightlined, but the butterscotch leather softened the effect and blended in seemlessly with the rest of the decor.

Behind the largest sofa was a set of French doors, which would open to a large patio, on which was a rectangular table surrounded by wooden chairs. This would be where they ate, even though there was a formal dining room connected to the kitchen.

The whole place smelled like it had been thoroughly cleaned very recently, but the smell was vanishing as Mrs. Ogino opened the windows, letting in the outdoor air.

Haku wondered why the family didn't live here all of the time. It was beautiful, within their price range, and was so much more intimate. This was a place for a family.

He sighed, deciding not to focus on unpleasant things, and looked up to the ceiling above. Only to find that it was much high than it should've been. It took him a moment to figure out that the whole center of the entire level was cut away, making it a balcony, which oversaw the floor he was on. He used just a bit of magic to get a clear view of the second floor in his mind, and counted six doors; four bedrooms, two bathrooms. But that made five bedrooms, as the master bed and bath was on the bottom floor. Confused, he pointed this out to Mrs. Ogino. Chihiro and Rin were dashing down the iron spiral staircase as he spoke, half of Chihiro's French braided into a pigtail. They were yelling at each other, about hair dye and bows, and dodging each other around the love seat. Mrs. Ogino sighed and raised her voice a little so that Haku could hear her.

"Well Haku, Mr. Ogino's mother is going to be staying with us as well. She'll be taking the largest bedroom on the second floor."

Chihiro and Rin stopped their bickering at once, in fact, they seemed to be frozen. They turned wide and frightened eyes to their mother, and then Chihiro spoke in a small and quivering voice.

"Gr-grandma's coming to stay with us? For... for the summer?"

Haku thought Chihiro looked ridiculous with half of her hair hanging out, so he moved in her direction when he heard Mrs. Ogino sigh.

"Now girls, she is your grandmother. No matter what you think, you know you love her."

Haku was standing directly behind the younger sister, and he could smell the anxiety rolling off of her. To show his support for whatever was going on, he placed his hand on his shoulder, and was surprised when she reached up quickly and threaded her fingers through his own. Even still, she was incredibly tense. Now frowning thoughtfully, he looked at Rin as she joined the conversation.

"Are her eyes still funny?"

Well, _that_ was a bizarre question! Chihiro was leaning against his chest now, and while the small signs affection passing between them thrilled him, he knew she was only this open because she was terribly upset.

By now Haku was deeply, confused, and unsettled. They were acting as if their grandmother was the witch who'd done him so much harm. Actually, he'd have to thank her before he ripped her throat out. If it wasn't for her, then he'd never have met Chihiro.

"Excuse me, if you don't mind me asking, what is exactly is wrong with this woman?", he asked as he gently untangled the solitary pigtail, dragging his fingers against her scalp, infusing just a bit of magic into his touch, enough to calm her down a bit. Her muscles slackened a bit, and she regained enough energy to... sit down on the couch. She was still holding his hand, so he sat down beside her, the cloth of his pants brushing against her bare calves.

"Well, Haku, the girls' grandmother has cataracts."

When he didn't answer, Rin and Chihiro, in tandem, filled in exactly what was going on.

"Grandma smokes pot."

* * *

Well, folks, enjoy. The next chapter is flufferific. 


	12. Family Matters

To those of you who still care, I am sorry for neglecting this fic. For a good amount of time, I simply had no interest in writing. But now I do. I'm older, wiser, and a little better with words. And so, I will work on this fic once more. I will pick up from where I left off, and that will be that.

Silent Guardian, this is for you.

Here we go again.

* * *

The house was a frenetic flurry of activity. Mrs. Ogino was stocking the pantry with various snack foods, and lots of them – chips, crackers, candy, the works. Rin was in charge of preparing Grandma Ogino's bedroom, from making the bed to stocking the fridge with baby bottles of booze. Chihiro worked outside, sweeping the deck before setting the patio table for six. Mr. Ogino did everyone a favor by lounging in a hammock strung between two trees.

As for Haku, there wasn't really anything he could do. He asked, of course, but Mrs. Ogino shushed him and told him to relax. But it was hard to relax when the three Ogino women were strung so tightly. The tension was palpable, tingeing the air with acidic bitterness. Grandmothers were supposed to be soothing figures, a balm for their grandchildren's pains. From what he understood, children loved their doting grandmothers. But Rin and Chihiro seemed to fear her, or at least fear for her.

While the women flew from chore to chore, Haku heard the telltale sound of knocking at the door. _That must be her_, he thought to himself. No one seemed to notice the noise but him, so he took it upon himself to answer. Unfailingly silent, he walked calmly to the door, still disbelieving of the chaos this woman inspired.

He was never one to hesitate, so he opened the door to invite their guest in. But when he saw Grandma Ogino, he finally understood the girls' trepidation.

Before him stood a generously proportioned woman upholstered in leopard printed velvet and gold taffeta, trimmed with purple fringe and crystal tassels. Her wrinkled, withered face was caked with garish make-up, from glittering pink lipstick to radioactive blue eye shadow. She had silvery white hair that was cut in a wildly spiked pixie cut, like the plumage of an inquisitive bird. Instead of eyebrows, she had ridiculously arched lines painted where her eyebrows should have been.

In her arms was a very large and very fluffy white cat, which snarled and hissed like an egg in a hot pan.

"Hello, _dahhhhling_._"_

_Oh, _he thought to himself.

_I get it now._

* * *

Grandma Ogino marched into the den like she owned, her hips swinging back and forth like a pendulum. Haku was pretty sure he was going to vomit. He had been asked, more like forced, to carry in the woman's many suitcases. There were several hat boxes, a steamer trunk plastered with various international stickers, and a tote bag just for that demonic feline creature.

"My dears, you're absolutely divine Grand-mama is here!" Her voice was husky and scratchy, like nails on a scratch board, or hornets buzzing around a nest.

Mrs. Ogino was all smiles and politeness, whereas Rin and Chihiro were positively squirming. They hovered behind their mother with identical horrified expressions. They looked like they were about to be executed.

"Hello Zeniba, how have you been?" Grandma Ogino, _Zeniba_, held out her hand for Mrs. Ogino to kiss, like she was royalty. She certainly was a royal pain in the ass.

"Why, Yuko, I have been fabulous, just _fabulous_. This delightful young man was kind enough to help me with my belongings, the dear soul." Haku blanched – she _made_ him help her. "Oh Chichi-love, come give your grandma a hug!"

Zeniba held out her chicken leg arms, an obvious trap for Chihiro, who timidly tiptoed forward. "My lovely, eager granddaughter," she cooed as she smothered Chihiro in her ample bosom. From Haku's perspective, it looked like the girl was being swallowed by two dueling waterbeds. "That's a good girl," she clucked as she released the youngest Ogino. Chihiro backed away quickly, slightly green and on the verge of tears. Haku reasoned that she must've gotten a whiff of the perfume that had assaulted him earlier.

Then it was Rin's turn. She had a tepid smile plastered to her face as Zeniba enthusiastically embraced her older granddaughter. "You're almost as beautiful as I was at your age. Almost. Now, be a darling and get Grammy a dirty martini. Don't lace it with sleeping medication like you did last time. We'll save that for later."

Rin practically ran from the room, escaping the torment that was Zeniba. For some reason, that name stuck out. Beneath that gaudy exterior was a woman he would have to keep an eye out for. But she seemed to know the Ogino family well enough. Still, he would make sure she behaved.

Mr. Ogino loped into the house, his arms opened wide for his mother. "Hey there, Ma!"

Zeniba only smacked her son's corpulent stomach. "If it isn't my good for nothing son, Akio. What are we having for supper?"

And that was that. Chihiro, Rin and Haku brought Zeniba's luggage upstairs, Mrs. Ogino prepared something for the adults to eat, Zeniba insulted her son, and the cat peed in one of the potted plants.

* * *

Dinner was an interesting affair, to put it lightly. Chihiro and Rin took turns cowering away from their boisterous grandmother, while Mrs. Ogino desperately tried to play peacemaker between Zeniba and Mr. Ogino. Haku had a ringside seat to an event that was giving him the most wicked migraine. They bantered, they argued, they laughed… couldn't they just shut up? He couldn't even enjoy the fact that they were eating ribs, steak and chicken. It was a meat palace, and he didn't want a bit of it.

While they were preoccupied, he decided he needed to escape. He wouldn't fly, but he would take his preferred form. Stress made his skin feel tight, like he was going to fly apart under the pressure. No doubt, he would be careful, but with a little bit of what they called magic, he was able to deduce that there were no other humans for miles.

Things did taper down eventually. Mrs. Ogino and Zeniba engaged in a genteel game of poker, though Zeniba was a bit more passionate about it. Mr. Ogino laid out in the hammock again, smoking a cigar while he sipped brandy from a sifter. Rin disappeared into the den, where she mindlessly watched some teen movie. Chihiro was making use of the swing-set, quietly dodging the antics of her family.

He could sense that would not be missed. And so, without alerting anyone to his presence, he silently sped through the woods, drifting on swift wind. Ultimately, he ended up in a small pocket of free space, a small patch of grass and wildflowers in the forest. From there it was a simple process of freeing himself. Bones stretched and snapped, human skin melted into pearlescent scales, and every sense sharpened almost painfully.

It took him a minute to adjust to such heightened awareness, but when he did, he basked in it. He could hear every piece of grass moving in the breeze, smell the waves lapping at the shore, and see the crystalline stars against him. Without the trappings of humanity, he allowed himself to feel as ancient and worldly as he really was.

Coiling loosely like a lazy serpent, he laid in the grass, letting out a low, pleased growl. The zephyr ruffled his fur like a comforting caress, lulling him into a light nap.

"I was wondering where you'd went."

Languidly opening his eyes, he peered kindly at the slowly approaching Chihiro. She looked small and cheery as she made her way through the forest – she didn't fear him. This was good - he didn't want her to fear him. But a fear of dragons was a good thing to have. He raised his head slightly, his ears flicking back and forth. Within a moment, she was at his side, running her hands over the scales on his neck.

"I told you she was insane," she giggled as she pressed her cheek against his muzzle. He let her indulge in her girly fascination. It wasn't everyday she was able to touch a dragon. Besides, it felt kind of nice. It appealed to his inner house cat.

"Just wait until she starts smoking the marijuana. Then the real fun begins."

Oh yeah, he couldn't _wait_ for that.

"You don't have to growl at me, you know. I was only teasing."

That night, for a few hours, Chihiro got to watch the stars with a dragon. Not many kids could say that.

* * *

Alright, it's short, but it's a start.

If I get a good enough response, I'm back.

Goodnight, and good luck.


End file.
